Canton police chief responds to public criticisms

By Mike Berger

The following report was included in the Select Board meeting recap that was published in the August 10 edition of the Citizen:

Police Chief Helena Rafferty said she plans to seek $200,000 in capital funding in the next budget cycle so that all officers can be outfitted with body camera equipment. Rafferty said the police officers’ union endorsed the concept during the last round of contract negotiations and all officers are in favor of it.

Rafferty said she’s also looking into additional funding sources, including government grants, while stressing that she would like to start the program as soon as possible. In response to a resident’s suggestion that police should utilize the asset forfeiture funds for body cameras instead of the automated license plate readers (ALPR) that they are planning to purchase, Rafferty said there is not enough in the account to do so and she would rather make use of the funding now on what she described as a powerful, state-of-the-art investigative tool that could potentially help solve a wide range of cases, ranging from vehicle thefts to child abductions and mental health crisis calls.

Rafferty also took the opportunity to address the various unsubstantiated rumors, innuendos, and in some instances, “outright falsehoods” that have circulated throughout the community in relation to the murder case against Karen Read, who is charged with killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer and Canton resident John O’Keefe. The chief specifically took aim at what she described as the sensationalistic and at times “slanderous” reporting style of Aidan Kearney, an online journalist also known as Turtleboy. Rafferty vehemently refuted a number of specific accusations lodged by Kearney about the chief herself, members of her family, and witnesses in the murder investigation, and she emphatically stated that there is “no evidence of a cover-up in the tragic death of John O’Keefe.”

While Rafferty said she respects people’s First Amendment rights to express their viewpoints, she said the actions of Kearney and others have repeatedly crossed the line into bullying and harassment.

“I can appreciate that some people have questions on the O’Keefe case based on the limited information they have seen thus far,” she said. “However, what I cannot accept is witnesses … these are residents who have not been charged with any crimes … being bullied in their homes, at their children’s games, or on vacation, all under the guise of the First Amendment. This is a really slippery slope that if allowed to continue, will cause a rapid decline in the amount of people who would ever step forward to be a witness in any case and quite possibly, the slow erosion of the judicial system overall.”

Rafferty added that she would gladly meet with any resident to discuss department protocols and any other police business, and she said she will ask the district attorney to come to Canton to answer questions on court protocols.

In response to a question during the public comment period, Theodore said he would propose to Rafferty a date to meet with residents in a larger venue to address questions and concerns.

Some of those concerns were again made apparent during the public comment portion of Tuesday’s meeting as several residents took the opportunity to voice their dissatisfaction with the Canton Police Department and Select Board. Two of the speakers called for the immediate resignation of Select Board member Chris Albert because of his behavior in a recent social setting and his family relationship with witnesses in the O’Keefe case.

Many of the residents who spoke wanted to see greater transparency and more effective leadership from the Select Board, while others reminded board members that they work for the residents and should start putting the public’s needs first.

The board for now is planning to continue with its 15-minute public comment period each meeting with a three-minute time limit per speaker, although Theodore said he is open to having a discussion on increasing the period and number of minutes per person. Theodore and Doody both reiterated that there will be no dialogue between the speakers and the board during the comment period; however, residents are welcome to request that a discussion on a given topic be added to the agenda at a future board meeting.

In other news from the August 8 meeting:

* The board heard for the second time in the public comment period a call to adopt a later start time for its meetings. Board meetings typically start at 5:30 p.m., but residents have said that time is not convenient for working families.

Share This Post

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=119070